Sköll
The Adventure Begins (Again :)): 04/24/2025
Coaching Resources
Start Here
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Start Here 〰️
The Handbook is a lengthy read, but has just about everything you might need to know when starting a program. This is the absolute best place to start with your training package.
Start Here
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Start Here 〰️
Guild Hall is a client portal within my website - you’ll find classes and events available only to past and present clients there, as well as discounts on certain future services. You’ll also find recommended outlets for your dog, including sports, events, and sniffspot information.
Your google drive is available to you to reference your contract and contact and care form, make updates to your dog’s care information, upload vaccination records, as well as share videos and photos with questions or for feedback!
Character Sheet
Recommended Training Package: Cast Guidance Subscription with Intermittent Character Creation Sessions
Great work in our session with Sköll! Her potential as a service dog is so exciting, especially with her intuitive alerts for Mom’s migraines. For now, we’re aiming for a rock-solid CGC foundation before exploring next steps.
Primary CGC Focus Areas:
Greeting people and dogs (no pulling/jumping)
Reactivity to dogs on leash
Supervised separation (with Overall Protocol)
Reaction to distractions (especially auditory)
Behavior Goals:
Duration sits/downs
“Place” cue
Build “under” cue
Permission-based greeting (especially when not vested)
General desensitization to stimuli and consistent social behavior
We’ll also monitor her intermittent reactivity and sociability, which are essential to manage now for long-term success. I’m recommending Cast Guidance for consistent, long-term skill development. Details include:
Access to training library, webinars, and The Spellbook
Weekly Office Hours
Monthly Skill Check (30 min virtual)
Weekly video feedback
10% class discounts
We’ll address reactivity in-person starting next Wednesday at 2:00 PM.
Re: Hati & Thor — my recommendation: go with a boarding stay for Hati to gauge her comfort and get the most value out of her stay with enrichment to help broaden her world a little more casually and gently, and board and train for Thor, who’s more ready for a structured curriculum.
Thanks again for all your work with the pack!
05/30/2025
In this session, we focused on Sköll’s leash reactivity, especially when she encounters other dogs. As we discussed, her reactions stem from a mix of excitement and frustration, so we’re aiming to give her more flexible tools to manage those feelings in real time.
We introduced and practiced three foundational behaviors:
Food Scatters – Tossing several treats on the ground to encourage Sköll to lower her head, sniff, and decompress. This is a great way to redirect her attention and reduce arousal.
Ready - Get It – A cue to toss a single treat slightly behind her. It encourages disengagement from a trigger and can be used to create motion and momentum away from pressure.
Look At That – Marking and rewarding Sköll for calmly looking at a trigger (like another dog or person). This helps build neutrality and reduces her need to react.
Together, these three cues form a "ladder" you can scale depending on Sköll’s level of arousal:
Start with Food Scatters if she’s already reacting or struggling to focus.
Use Ready - Get It to maintain motion and reinforce loose leash walking, especially around blind corners.
Build up to Look At That when she’s under threshold and able to observe calmly.
We also talked about context:
For people she’s eager to greet, continuing to use the sit cue makes sense, especially given her service work goals.
For dogs, I recommend allowing more freedom of motion to reduce the pressure that might come with asking her to sit.
And of course — don’t forget the treats! High-value rewards will go a long way toward reinforcing calmer, more thoughtful responses.
Let me know how things go this week and if anything comes up! Remember that the video analysis and recording subscription you both have can be any behaviors you want to work on with her, including the reactivity homework!
Skill Tree
